Up Periscope

This film is a good thriller of a top secret naval operation in the South Pacific during World War II. James Garner's assignment calls for him to swim to a Japanese-controlled island and decipher a code that the Navy needs to anticipate enemy intentions. The film has a claustrophobic feel to it as most of the scenes are filmed below topside as the submarine makes its way to the destination island. There are Japanese destroyers about, dropping depth charges and making matters uncomfortable for the crew. Edmond O'Brien is the sub's by-the-book commander, still shaken by the loss of a crew member during a recent assignment, and he and Garner share a mutual dislike that sets in motion Garner's mission-impossible task. Garner's whirlwind courtship with Andra Martin is the only false note of the movie which adds nothing to the plot. The cast and tech credits are good.

It's 1942. Submarine Commander Paul Stevenson (Edmond O'Brien) struggle with the life and death of war in the South Pacific. Meanwhile, Navy frogman Lieutenant Braden (James Garner) is having a romance in San Diego with Sally. It turns out that she had been accessing him in secret. With recommendation from her, he is given a secret mission on Stevenson's boat.

This is a solid submarine war movie. While Garner is leading man material, he isn't given enough room to be his charismatic self. It's the early days of his stardom. There is a real submarine and real plane work. Once the movie gets back on land, Garner is by himself and the mission needs to move faster. It's too much waiting and the flashback doesn't help. It's a lot of quietly skulking around. It's not the most exciting of thrills. This is interesting to see an early movie with Garner as the leading man.

In 1942, in California, the diver Lieutenant Kenneth M. Braden (James Garner) from the navy demolition team falls in love with Sally Johnson (Andra Martin) and proposes her. The reluctant woman asks for more time to decide, but Braden is summoned to travel to a base in the Pacific. Sooner he discovers that Sally is actually a military from navy assigned to check his qualifications for a classified mission. He must travel on board of the submarine Barracuda commanded by Commander Paul Stevenson (Edmond O'Brien) to a Japanese island and photograph their secret radio codes in a very dangerous mission.

"Up Periscope" is a good war thriller with an unbelievable plot that entertains. I would never dare to compare this film with the stunning masterpiece "Das Boot", but there are good action scenes. I decided to see this movie with very few expectations but in the end I had a pleasant surprise. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): Not Available

Robb White's World War II naval-combat/coming-of-age novel is one of my lifetime favorites, so I eagerly anticipated seeing this movie on video. Unfortunately, the book spoiled it for me. I'm sure I would have liked this movie much better if I had never read the book. To be fair, this is a good war flick on its own merits.

I was expecting a fairly mediocre and routine "sub flick" and was pleasantly surprised to find an above average and pretty engrossing movie. The story has some grit and conflict, especially in the hostility of the crew for its "by the book" captain, played with convincing war-weariness by the always-reliable Edmond O'Brien, whose efforts are matched by a very young James Garner. Production values are high, and it's worth catching it in letterbox format. Some of the mistakes in commando procedures have been noted, to which I would add the lack of facial camouflage, as Garner's strikingly white face floats conspicuously above the water in his nighttime swim, an easy target for lookouts. None the less, a pretty good war flick.